Does Canada Produce Good TV Shows?

[The Borgified Corpse]

^With Stargate, not only were the actors & crew largely Canadian, but so were the writers. That's why production on the series was uninhibited by the 2008 WGA strike, whereas the 2nd half of the 4th season of Battlestar Galactica was delayed because of it.

Greg Cox wrote:

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Lost Girl.

Yes. Lost Girl has become my most recent addiction. And while the show plays it very coy about exactly where it's set, at least 1 episode definately establishes it as being in Canada. (In "Vexed," Kenzie refers to a death row inmate as being "across the border.")

If you're into really sick, dark, twisted humor, Puppets Who Kill is good for a laugh.

But I am stunned that we've gotten this far without mentioning Canada's greatest ever contribution to the medium: Made in Canada. It was a scathing satire about unscrupulous Canadian TV producers. It starred Rick Mercer (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) & Peter Keleghan (Ranger Gord from The Red Green Show). It lasted 5 seasons, but only the 1st 6 episodes were ever released on DVD before Salter Street Films went broke. (And that barebones DVD is so out of print that it costs about $74.94 on Amazon.com.) My greatest wish would be for Seasons 2-5 to get released on DVD. Does no one else remember this show?

[Guy Gardener]

Ken Finkleman's The Newsroom (Move along, this is not he News Room you are thinking of.), followed by something else, followed by Good Dog, followed by Good God.

Just hilarious.

[Agent Richard07]

Puppets Who Kill, Made in Canada and The Newsroom were great. Still haven't seen Good Dog or Good God. I like Ken Finkleman's work, but it can get a little weird and incomprehensible at times.

[WHF]

Yeah, The Newsroom and Made in Canada were fantastic. For comedies I would add The Tournament, this was like the Trailer Park Boys but with hockey parents (they made a British version of this show called The Cup). And Twitch City (Molly Parker and Don McKellar) which was about a guy obsessed with TV and unable to leave his apartment. And of course SCTV. I would also include Lexx in the comedy category.

For drama you can't beat Intelligence and Da Vinci's Inquest.

A few others worth mentioning: This Hour Has 22 Minutes (still running), North of 60 and Wayne and Shuster, both long since finished.

[Guy Gardener]

Twitch City blew me away because I used to be that bloke.

It wasn't the obsession with watching tv, but the religion in finding TV, studying the TVGuide and circling the minutes in the day that you needed to be observant and dedicated to abide with the transmission scheduling... I remembering being that guy. But then I figured out how to use my VCR timer, and then I moved onto bit torrent and I was no longer a slave.

Well, I'm still a slave to the oncoming storm of media, but I'm not a slave to time anymore.

God bless timeshifting.

I walk funny when I think about Molly Shannon.

[lennier1]

Some of my favorites:

- Due South
- Little Mosque on the Prairie
- Road to Avonlea
- Being Erica
- Murdoch Mysteries
- Flashpoint
- ReGenesis

[Agent Richard07]

Yes, North of 60 is another good one.

lennier1 wrote:

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- ReGenesis

I've only seen the first season. It looked like pretty good HBO quality near future scifi. I have to finish the series.

[Owain Taggart]

The Borgified Corpse wrote:

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But I am stunned that we've gotten this far without mentioning Canada's greatest ever contribution to the medium: Made in Canada. It was a scathing satire about unscrupulous Canadian TV producers. It starred Rick Mercer (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) & Peter Keleghan (Ranger Gord from The Red Green Show). It lasted 5 seasons, but only the 1st 6 episodes were ever released on DVD before Salter Street Films went broke. (And that barebones DVD is so out of print that it costs about $74.94 on Amazon.com.) My greatest wish would be for Seasons 2-5 to get released on DVD. Does no one else remember this show?

Ahh, good point about the show! I somehow never really got around to watching it much, but I did like what I've seen of it. It's almost like Arrested Development in the humour department.

I'm currently watching Arctic Air, another good recent show; a scripted drama about aviation in the Canadian north. And love watching Ice Pilots, which is in its 4th season.

[lennier1]

Agent Richard07 wrote:

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Yes, North of 60 is another good one.

I've only seen the first season. It looked like pretty good HBO quality near future scifi. I have to finish the series.

Give it another try if the opportunity presents itself. It'll be worth your time.

[LightningPRS]

I can't believe no one has mentioned one of the staples of 80s TV for kids: You Can't Do That On Television. Though the show has been off the air now for 23 years, most people I know who grew up in the 1980s remembers this show a lot!

[firehawk12]

lennier1 wrote:

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Some of my favorites:

- Due South
- Little Mosque on the Prairie
- Road to Avonlea
- Being Erica
- Murdoch Mysteries
- Flashpoint
- ReGenesis

Is it true that they somehow worked in Stephen Harper into Murdoch Mysteries?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ They worked him into Corner Gas, so I wouldn't be surprised.

[Rageforthemachine]

After producing Degrassi Jr. High/High School Canada is allowed to rest now. Their contribution to humankind is complete.

[lennier1]

firehawk12 wrote:

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Is it true that they somehow worked in Stephen Harper into Murdoch Mysteries?

[JRS]

I liked a Canadian show called Da Vinci's Inquest

http://youtu.be/89ZnoPY3v3Y

Quite well written show with good actors.
I was watching this from TV when I was still living in Finland.